What we call purani dilli or old Delhi today was the capital city of Shajahanabad in the middle of 17^th century. The Mughal Emperor built the Red Fort as his palace complex and the city as his capital. For them, the Mehrauli area would have been ‘old Delhi’. This heritage walk starts from the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, opposite Red Fort. It is the oldest Jain temple in the city and a charitable bird hospital functions in its premises. The shrine is contemporary to Shahjahan’s time but the building we see now is mostly from middle of 19^th century. Adjacent to it is the Gauri Shankar temple, a large white building. It is an early 18^th century temple built by a Maratha nobleman. Walking along the Chandni Chowk we passed the State Bank of India building, one of the better surviving colonial buildings and the Central Baptish Church, a church built just after 1857. This entire stretch would have been the estate of a lady popularly known as Begum Samroo. She is one of the characters in Indian history who have many romantic or otherwise stories associated with her. Continue Reading This Post

A group of students from Denmark on their first trip to India joined us for a heritage walk in old Delhi on Sunday evening. The old city of Delhi is the capital built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, who named the new capital after himself, Shahjahanabad. The Red Fort was his palace-fort complex and Jama Masjid the congregation mosque of the city.

We wandered through the narrow lanes of old Delhi: looking at the haveli facades in Katra Khushal Rai, the Digamber Jain Naya Mandir, Naughara, Parathewali Gali. The havelis and Jain temples in the city have a typical late-Mughal aesthetic style: the arches, the life-like representation of flowers, etc, patronised by Shahjahan and used extensively after him. Naughara is a group of havelis (mansions) which still retain much of their traditional appearance.

Next on the route was the main street of Chandni Chowk, Continue Reading This Post

We covered the main street of Chandni Chowk, from Digambar Jain Lal Mandir opposite Red Fort right up till the Fatehpuri area. The Jain temple and Gauri Shankar temple are the two most important temples in old Delhi. Their shikhars are most prominently visible from a distance. The first one is contemporary to Shah Jahan’s time (mid 17^th century) and the second was built in 18^th century. Next stop was SBI building which has recently undergone restoration. This entire area would originally have been Begam Samroo’s estate. It is now called Bhagirath Place & is a very large market for electronic goods. Close by is the Central Baptist Church built just after 1857 uprising. On the opposite side are the famous jalebiwala and Dariba Kalan, the street known for its silver jewellery. Next was Sisganj gurudwara, the fountain chowk and Sunheri masjid. The fountain & sisganj gurudwara mark the place of martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur & 3 of his followers. Continue Reading This Post

Pictures of heritage walk in old Delhi: Jama Masjid, Gali Guliyan, havelis in Katra Khushal Rai, Digambar Jain Naya Mandir, haveli where St. Stephen’s college began (Sheesh Mahal), Kinari Bazaar, Naughara & Parathewali gali. The landmarks were explained by Priya Gangadharan & Kanika Singh.

(posted by Rajesh Ranjan, team member, Delhi Heritage Walks)

Jama Masjid and Lanes of Old Delhi Heritage Walk